Relief and by-pass valve assembly



May 1v, 1945 l Y, M. CASERTA' l 2,375,076

I RELIEF AND BY-PASS VALVE ASSEMBLY ,Filed Dec. 4, 194s 2 sheetsL-sneet 1 l i N/c/zele Caserta L May l, 1.94@ L M. CASERTA V 2,375,076

- RELIEF: AN-DV BY-PASS VALVE ASSEMBLY Filed Dec, '4, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 f .MLC/7de Cade/iwf'.

Patented May l, 194.5.'

RELIEF AND BVY-PASS VALVE ASSEMBLY Michele caserta, Detroit, Mich., lasslgnor to hompson Products, Inc., a corporation o! Application December 4, 1943, Serial No. 512,891 s claims. (olf. 277-45) This invention relates to a relief valve and more particularly to a relief and by-pass valve assembly for use in pumps such as pumps used for the transfer of fuel in aircraft: v

The present invention constitutes an improvement over the valve construction described in my pending application Serial No. 397,763, led June 12, 1941. In that application I have shown a nested assembly of elements constituting both a vThe relief valve is provided internally with 'up-v standing, vertical ribs to serve as a guide for the by-pass valve disk, and the latter, because a disklike rather than a piston-type element, cannot hecome stuck evenif it should assume a cocked position with respect to said ribs. The disk is provided with a depending annular flange for partially enclosing and conn'ing the upper end of the spring that urges the disk into closed position. The lower, closed bottoni wallet the relief valve is also upwardly dished centrally ior the purpose oi centering the lowerlend oi 'the ley-pass valve spring. l

lt is therefore an important object ci this invention to provide a relief and ley-pass valve assembly of an improved construction whereby ease and certainty of operation are assured and any danger of the by-pass valve becoming cocked and stuck is practically eliminated.

Other and further important objects of this invention will be apparent from the disclosures in the specification and the accompanying drawings.

On the drawings: y

- Figure l is a topplan View of a pump with which my relief and by-pass valve assembly is particularly adapted to be used; v

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line II-II of Figure 1, with parts in elevation;

FigureG isa sectional View taken substantially along the line VI-VI of Figure 5;

Figure 7 ls an enlarged sectional, exploded view' of the relief and by-pass valve assembly showing the constituent elements thereof; and

Figure 8 is .a sectional view of a stamped metal Icy-pass valve disk.

As shown on the, drawings: A

The reference` numeral Ill (Figs. 1 and 2) indi- 'cates generally an aircraft fuel pump with which a. relief and by-pass valve assembly of my invention is particularly adapted to be associated. Said pump lll comprises a pump casing Il, a valve housing l2 mounted thereon, and a valve housing cover I3 secured to said vhousing l2 and to the pump casing ll by means 'of bolts and nuts It. The pump here illustrated ls of the rotary vane type, the bore of the pump casing. ll being provided with a pump liner I5 within which a rotor it is adapted to be driven. The pump casing ll is provided with anintake ll and an outletI lt by a partition lBA, on the intake side of whichV is formed a port lll, and on the outlet side of which Figure 3 is a sectional View taken substantially isiormed a port Zt both of which are in flow communication with interior portions of the valve housing li. p v

Said valve housing it is formed with an axially concentric, annular partition 2l, which, as best shown in Figures 3 and 4, is integrally cast with the valve housing it, to which it is connected by web portions it, it and tt. On the intake side ci the partition tl, in conjunction with the web it, said partition provides a pair of ports it and tito that are in communication with the port it and the intake il. On the outlet side of said annular partition 2l it is open as at 2t (Fig. 2)

to provide flow communication from the outlet port 20 through a port 2l in the valve housing. to thefnterior of said WMI-like partition 2l The inner upper edge of sa'. partition 2| provides a relief valve seat 23, the full circumference of which is completed by a horizontally ext .ding Portion `29 of said partition 2l. yThe interior `of the valve 'housing iz is thus divided into meer portion including the port 21 and an upper cavity.

The lower annular edge of the partition 2| rests -directly upon said gasket 32. which is clamped formed in the upperportion of said valve housing I2, and with a lower closed bottom portion .31, having an upstanding cylindrical side wall 33 slidable within the bore 3l. Said relief valve 34 is further formed with an intermediate offset portion 35, provided on its outer surface with a beveled seating face 40; and on its inner surface with a flattened shoulder 4|. Above the offset portion39, the side wall of the relief valve 34 is provided with ports 42, while ports 43 are formed in the lower side wall. The bottom wall 3l of said relief valve is provided with an upwardly dished central portion 44 for the purpose of centering a coiledspring 45, adapted to rest thereon. The lower side wall of said relief valve 34 is provided with inwardly extending ribs 46, which are parallel to the axis of said relie valve and which serve for guiding a by-pass valve disk 41, as will later be explained in greater detail.

The by-pass valve disk 41 is formed with an upper disk-like portion presenting an outer pe.

riphery 48 for sliding engagement with said ribs 46, and with a lower dependent annular flange 49 for partially enclosing and confining the upper end of said coiled spring 45. The by-pass valve disk 41 is also provided, on its upper face, with a raised, fiat annular surface 5I) which constitutes the seating surface of the disk, as' will later be explained.

In Figure 8, there is illustrated a stamped metal disk 41a having parts corresponding to those of the 'valve 41 designated by the same reference numerals with the subscript a.

A lay-pass valve 5I is adapted to be nested within the relief valve 34 to provide a seat for the bY-pass disk 41. Said member 5I is formed with a dependent annular flange 52 having 'an outside diameter equal to the diameter of the circle defined by the inwardly extending ribs 46. The lower surface of said flange 52 provides a plane annular face 53 against which said by-pass disk 41 is adapted to be urged by the spring 45. Above said dependent annular iiange 52, the by-pa'ss valve 5I is provided with an'annular shoulder 54, the bottom face 55 of which is plane and adapted to rest upon and be supported by the shoulder 4I of the relief valve 34. A thin washer receiving avball 63.

56 of iiexible material, may suitably be positioned between the shoulders and 4I to insure a seal therebetween. The upper portion of the by-pass valve 5I is provided with a plurality of radial ports 51 for permitting free iiow of uid from the upper chamber 30 through the ports 42 in the relief valve 34 to the interior of said relief valve 5| above the by-pass disk 41.

Thus, in casethe rotor I6 is not operating and it is necessary to by-pass said rotor, the fuel can be caused to ow under pressure, as by means of an emergency hand pump (not shown), up through the port I9, through the corresponding ports 25 and 25a in the valve housing I2, through the ports 42 in the relief valve 34 and through the ports 51 in the relief valve 5| to act against the by-pass disk 41. Since the spring 45 is rel'- UIL atively very light, being merely sulcient to hold the by-pass disk 41 against its seat when the iiuid pressure above and below the by-pass disk is substantially the same. said by-pass disk 41 is depressed to permit the fuel to continue in its flow through the opening thereby provided and out through the ports 43, 21 and 2U to the outlet side I8 of the pump casing.

In the operation of the by-pass disk 41, there is no tendency of the disk to become cocked and stuck, since the outer peripheral surface 43 is rounded (Fig. 7) to give the effect of a thin circular disk rather than that of a piston. Furthermore, the coiled spring 45 acts against the underside of said disk with a pressure that is uniformly distributed about its complete circumference and adjacent its outer periphery. The "spring 45 is itself centered by the upstanding central portion 44 in the closed bottom 31 of the relief valve 34 and its top winding 'is confined within the dependent lange 49 of said b y-pass disk 41, so that the spring cannot easily bev displaced. In addition, the amount by which the spring 45 can be compressed is limited by the lower dependent iiange l49 of the by-pass disk 41 striking against the closed bottom wall 31 ofthe relief valve 34,

' so that the spring 25 can never be compressed beyond its elastic limit. l

As a'matter of fact, the movement of the bypass disk 41 is very slight in actual practice, since the opening that is uncovered is of such large diameter as to permit substantially unobstructed flow of the fuel upon slight depressiony of the by-pass disk.

Between the valve housing cover |3uand the valve housing I2, a diaphragm 58 is clamped about its periphery by the samebolts I4 that hold the pump casing II, valve housing I2 and cover I3 together. seated, the upper face 59 of said by-pass valve 5I extends into ktouching contact with said diaphragm 58.

A stamped metal washer 60I is positioned above said diaphragm 58 to-rest thereagainst with its downwardly oiset peripheral portion 6I opposing the upper annular surface 59 of said by-pass valve 5|. Said disk 60 is further formed with a semi-spherical, centrally depressed portion 62 for A second stamped metal disk 64 is formed with a complementary semi-spherical portion 65 which rests against said ball 63 to be centered thereby. Said disk 64 is also provided with a downwardly oiiset peripheral portion 66 which forms a seat for the bottom turn of a regulating spring 61 for adjusting the pressure against said diaphragm 5" The regulating mechanism icludes a screw 68, which is adapted to extend through an opening 69, centrally positioned in the top of said cover I3. Said screw 68 is provided-with an integral flange 10, between which and the underside of the cover I3 is positioned a gasket 12. A checknut 13 serves to draw the flange and gasket tightly up against the under surface of the top wall of the cover I3 to provide a fluid-proof seal. A flanged disk 14 is operatively threaded upon the lower threaded end `of the screw 68 and is provided with an offset peripheral iiange 1,5 for- ,bearing against the upper end of the coiled spring 61. For the purpose of guiding said disk 14, a plurality of longitudinally extending integral ribs 'I6 are formed on the inside of the side wall of said cover I3, and the peripheral iiange 15 of said disk 14 is recessed as at 1.1 for sliding engagement with said ribs. Ihe screw 68 is further With the relief valve 34 properlysion force of the spring 6l.

pressure exerted downwardly against the diaphragm B, it is merely necessary to loosen the check nut 13 and turn the screw 68 in the desired direction. By virtue of the threaded engagement between the disk lll and the threaded portion of the screw t8, said disk 14 will be moved upwardly or downwardly to lessen or increase the compres- The slidable engagement between the ribs 16 of the cover I3 and the slotted periphery 'Il of the disk 1.4 prevents said disk lt from turning and insures a positive downward pressure against the spring 6l.

Furthermore, any tendency of one end of the spring tl to'be deflected from the horizontal due to movement of the disk 14 is neutralized by reason of the free mobility of the disk 64 about the ball td. As a result, only the axial component of the tension of the spring is transmitted, without any interfering factors, through the disk t4, the 'ball 63 and the disk 60 to the diaphragm 5t. The downward pressure on the diaphragm is further transmitted through the by-pass valve 5l to the relief valve til, through the gasket 5t, whereby the relief valve is held against its seat with the desired Ipressure.

If it is desired, the interior of the cover it `may be connected through a bore, shown in Figure 1 to be closed by a plug it, to the supercharger. When so connected, the pressure upon the diaphragm 5t varies in accordance with the pressure developed in the supercharger and is independent of circumarnbient air pressure.

ln the operation of the pump illustrated herein, the relief valve 3d is prevented from chattering by reason of the dashpot action brought about by the construction shown. lSince the relief valve is provided with a closed bottom 3l, and the lower portion of the relief valve has a sliding nt within the bore Ell, this dashpot action is set up beneath said closed bottom 3l during movement of said relief valve either upwardly or downwardly. The relief yvalve ttl is also held against misalignment by reason of the upper cylindrical guiding surfaces t'b which have a sliding fit with the internal wall of the valve housing l2, and by the lower cylindrical side wall 3d of said relief pressure tends to build up beyond that for which the relief valve is set, the fluid pressure acting upwardly against the offset portion t@ of said relief valve 3d and against the under `side of the bypass disk ll will tend to lift the relief valve td off of' its seat 23', and fluid will pass into the cavity td and through the ports l2 and lil into the port lil on the intake side of the pump. Fluid also passes through the port t3 in the lower portion of the relief valve 3ft and out through the opening provided when the seat 2t is uncovered. Since the opening provided when the valve 3d is lifted off of its seat 28 is of relatively largeldiameter, the valve need b'e lifted only slightly to provide for the flow of a 4considerable volume of the fuel from the outlet to the intakeside of the pump.

The ease of assembling the relief and by-pass valve structures of my invention should be observed. With the valve housing l2 open, it is merely necessaryto drop the various elements making up the assembly into place in "proper order, rst the relief valve proper 34, next the spring 45 and the by-pass disk 41, and finally the by-pass valve 5I. The gasket 56 can be c'on- 'veniently slipped over the lower annular flange 52 of the seat member 5I, before the latter is dropped into place. Because of the guiding and centering means provided, the parts nest into their assembled relationship without any particular care being required and without the necessity of using any special tools to effect the assembly.

Features of the pump construction here illustrated but not claimed are described and claimed in my copending application entitled "Rotary pump, Serial No. 480.278, filed March 24, 1943.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by thescope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A relief and lay-pass valve assembly, comprising a relief valve member having a closed bottom and a ribbed lower cylindrical side Wall provided with ports, a by-pass valve nesting in side said relief valve memberand providing an annular seat, a by-pass, disk slidable along said ribbed side wall for seating against said annular seat, and a spring confined under compression between said closed bottom and said by-pass disk to urge the latter against said seat. 4

2. A relief and lov-pass valve assembly, comprising a relief valve member having a closed bottom and a ribbed lower cylindrical side wall provided with ports, a ley-pass valve nesting Kinside said relief valve member and providing an annular seat, a by-pass disk slidable along said ribbed side wall for seating against said annular seat and having a` lower annular skirt, and a spring confined under compression between said closed bottom andV said by-pass 'disk within said skirt to urge the latter against said seat.

3. In a. relief and by-pass valve assembly, a stamped metal relief valve member having an upwardly dished closed bottom, a by-pass valve nested within said relief valve member to progA vide an annular seat spaced from said bottom, a by-pass disk within said space having a dependent annular skirt, and acoiled spring centered by said dished bottom and confined at the top by said annular skirt for urging said oy-pass disk. against said seat.

4. In a relief and by-pass Valve assembly, a stamped metal relief valve member having an upwardly dished closed bottom and a vertically ribbed cylindrical side wall extending therefrom, a lay-pass valve nested within said relief valve member to provide an annular seat spaced from said bottom, a by-pass disk within said space guided by said ribbed side wall for movement' therealong and having a dependent annular skirt, and a coiled spring centered by said dished bottom and conned 'at the top of said annular skirt for urging said by-pass valve against said seat.

5. A relief valve comprising a stamped metal cup-like member having a closed bottom, an intermediate external seating surface and upper and lower ported cylindricalside walls, the lower of 6. A relief valve comprising a stamped metal cup-likemember having a closed bottom, an intermediate external seating surface and upper and lower ported cylindrical side walls, the lower of said side walls being provided with vertical internal ribs for guiding a by-pass disk and said bottom being upwardly dished centrally to center the lower end of a coiled spring to be positioned thereon.

7. A relief and by-pass valve assembly compriaing a stamped metal cup-like relief valve member having a closed bottom, an intermediate external annular seating surface, and rupper and lower ported cylindrical side walls, the lower of said side walls being provided with vertical internal guiding ribs, said bottom being upwardly dished centrally, a ported by'pass valve nested within said relief valve and having a lower annular seating surface, a by-pass disk having an upper peripheral annular surfaceI for seating against said lower annular seating surface, a thin disklike outer surface for guidance along said ribs and having a-lower dependent annular skirt, and a spring between said by-pass disk and said bottom centered by the upwardly dished central por tion of usaid bottom and confined within said dependent annular skirt, whereby to urge said bypass disk against said lower annular seating surface.

8. A relief and by-pass valve assembly compris ing a stamped metal cup-like relief valve member having a closed bottom, an intermediate external annular seating surface, an internal annular shoulder and upper and lower ported cylindrical ,side walls, the lower of said side walls being provided with vertical internal guiding ribs, said bottom being upwardly dished centrally, a ported by-pass valve nested-within said relief valve to rest upon said internal annular shoulder and having a lower annular seating surface, a by-pass disk having an upper peripheral annular surface for seating against said lower annular seating surface, a thin disk-like outer surface for guidance along said ribs and having a lower dependent annular skirt, and a spring between said by-pass disk and said bottom centered by the upwardly dished central portion of said bottom and conned within said dependent annular skirt, whereby to urge said by-pass disk against said lower V annular seating surface.

MICHELE CASERTA. 

